For Nova Scotia companies that are provincially regulated, there are changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act you must know about. The recent changes to the act are coming into force June 12, 2017. The Nova Scotia Trucking Safety Association hopes this article will help explain the requirements for employers. Please contact us if you have any questions you.

Click on this link for a PDF one pager ( easy to understand) about the changes to the Nova Scotia Occupational Health & Safety Act changes effective June 12, 2017.

Follow this link if you want to download the current copy of the Occupational Health & Safety Act for the province of Nova Scotia that has the new amendments included in the pdf file.

The changes that affect many of the businesses here in Nova Scotia are around accident reporting and the requirements to submit notice to the Department of Labour & Advanced Education.

Below are the details for the requirements when you must report an accident.

63 (1) The employer shall notify the Director(a) as soon as possible, but in no case later than twenty-four hours, after a fire, flood or accident at the workplace that causes

(i) unconsciousness,

(ii) a fracture of the skull, spine, pelvis, arm, leg, ankle, wrist or a major part of the hand or foot,

(iii) loss or amputation of a leg, arm, hand, foot, finger or toe,

(iv) a third degree burn to any part of the body,

(v) loss of sight in one or both eyes,

(vi) asphyxiation or poisoning,

(vii) any injury that requires the admission to hospital, or

(viii) any injury that endangers the life, of an employee, unless the injury can be treated by immediate first aid or medical treatment and the person can return to work the following day;

(b) as soon as possible, but in no case later than twenty-four hours, after

(i) an accidental explosion,(ii) a major structural failure or collapse of a building or other structure,

(iii) a major release of a hazardous substance, or

(iv) a fall from a work area in circumstances where fall protection is required by the regulations,

at the workplace, whether any person is injured or not;

and(c) immediately when a person is killed from any cause, or is injured from any cause in a manner likely to prove fatal, at the workplace.